I am 43; I finally got to be part of a team that won it all this week! In basketball, a sport I have played competitively for many years now. But I had never won it all.
Thursday night was history for me. It was a bit of relief. I waited to tell my wife, teammates and others until it was over, that this was my first time coming out victorious. Most of my teammates are younger than me, and have won championships before. (Like my same congregation team did last year, when I could not play.) And some of the guys I had played with in those previous losing years, so I really wanted this monkey off my back.
For a few years (or decades) I thought I was part of the losing equation. This was a bit frustrating, because despite my limitations and faults in the sport, I thought I added some positives to good or decent teams, as a contributor on the plus side.
This season, like 2010, 2011, and 2012 ( I missed last year 2013 because of work), my ward (the LDS word for congregation, or parrish), I played again with the guys. Those first three years we came up short; last year they won it without me. So a part of me was thinking: Was it me? Was I part of the losing formula?
Now that I am well into my forties, I realize that my body and (even my mind, unfortunately) are not going to react in explosiveness or stamina like in the past. I am past my physical prime. I was hoping that my mental game could still progress.
That remains to be seen.
But at least, in a small way comparable to Steve Young finally winning a Super Bowl (in 1995), I can now know that I did not detract in the ultimate results of getting the prize. Of course, Steve Young, fellow BYU alum, was much more instrumental in his championship.
And no, I was not the biggest scorer or dribbler on the team, and I did not score very significantly in the final game, but I did contribute. I pulled down some rebounds, I made a few good passes, I committed a good foul (as called by a long time associate Don Hiatt), and I was part of an 8 man rotation that got the job done. Thursday night.
Tuesday night might have have been the bigger deal: we played Tall Cedars, which was undefeated until then, and we were able to upset them. I scored a bucket in the first half that helped keep up the winning distance till the end.
Which set up the championship game that was played two nights later, against a Goose Creek squad that had beaten us twice in the regular season.
Ah.
It feels good to have that taken care of.
Blog on.
EMC
Thursday night was history for me. It was a bit of relief. I waited to tell my wife, teammates and others until it was over, that this was my first time coming out victorious. Most of my teammates are younger than me, and have won championships before. (Like my same congregation team did last year, when I could not play.) And some of the guys I had played with in those previous losing years, so I really wanted this monkey off my back.
For a few years (or decades) I thought I was part of the losing equation. This was a bit frustrating, because despite my limitations and faults in the sport, I thought I added some positives to good or decent teams, as a contributor on the plus side.
This season, like 2010, 2011, and 2012 ( I missed last year 2013 because of work), my ward (the LDS word for congregation, or parrish), I played again with the guys. Those first three years we came up short; last year they won it without me. So a part of me was thinking: Was it me? Was I part of the losing formula?
Now that I am well into my forties, I realize that my body and (even my mind, unfortunately) are not going to react in explosiveness or stamina like in the past. I am past my physical prime. I was hoping that my mental game could still progress.
That remains to be seen.
But at least, in a small way comparable to Steve Young finally winning a Super Bowl (in 1995), I can now know that I did not detract in the ultimate results of getting the prize. Of course, Steve Young, fellow BYU alum, was much more instrumental in his championship.
And no, I was not the biggest scorer or dribbler on the team, and I did not score very significantly in the final game, but I did contribute. I pulled down some rebounds, I made a few good passes, I committed a good foul (as called by a long time associate Don Hiatt), and I was part of an 8 man rotation that got the job done. Thursday night.
Tuesday night might have have been the bigger deal: we played Tall Cedars, which was undefeated until then, and we were able to upset them. I scored a bucket in the first half that helped keep up the winning distance till the end.
Which set up the championship game that was played two nights later, against a Goose Creek squad that had beaten us twice in the regular season.
Ah.
It feels good to have that taken care of.
Blog on.
EMC
I was thinking 7 guys these last years...
ReplyDelete1. Teancum Bevans
2 .Taylor Call
3. Rob Heleniak
4. Aaron Smith
5. Jon Smith
6. myself
7. Aaron Miller
8. big tall guy? looked like Paul Walker?
Not Aaron Smith, Aaron Miller...
ReplyDelete